Community Vibrancy How-To Guides

Resources for Upstate communities who seek to plan a community vibrancy initiative

During the Spring semester of 2015, USC Upstate students worked with community leaders who have carried out different projects in their community. Students interviewed these leaders to outline best practices, lessons learned, and frequently asked questions, which were used to create five different how-to guides intended to assist communities in planning a similar initiative.

Instructions for Using the How-To Guides:

STEP ONE: Community Assessment

Begin by completing the Community Assessment. The assessment allows you to evaluate your community to find its strengths and help narrow down the best project for your community. For example, if you complete the assessment and learn that an important war battle happened, perhaps you could plan a festival that celebrates the history and memorializes the soldiers that fought in the battle.

STEP TWO: How-To Guides

After you have determined your community’s strengths, you can move on to one of the how-to guides, including marketing, branding & signage, public art, festivals & events, and local action committees. In some instances, you might want to use more than one guide.